Spiny Shell Shenanigans
by Jove's Boy
Summary: Best friends Apollo and Clay often get very competitive, and their Chords of Steel tend to rise to such occasions. See what happens when Clay cheats to win a game of Mario Kart!


{ _Cover art by Rica Diaz, whom you can also find on tumblr as WonderfulWorldofMoi._ }

* * *

"Ka-BOOM! KA-POW! I win _again_ , Polly!"

Apollo Justice scowled and threw his game controller down in indignation. "You cheated, Clay!" he shouted. "Did you _have_ to throw that blue shell _right at the end of the last lap_?"

Clay laughed, his russet-brown eyes twinkling merrily. "Just using what the game gives me, Polly." He smoothed the front of his navy blue jumper, smirking in self-satisfaction. "It's not _my_ fault I get all the good stuff." His gaze turned glacial momentarily. "It's not like _you_ didn't get any good stuff, either!"

"Objection!" shrieked Apollo, his twin spikes of hair suddenly shooting upward. "You know _perfectly well_ , Adam Clay Terran, that _all_ I got was just a bunch of those damned banana peels!"

Clay chuckled amiably, regarding his best friend as he ranted about the injustices of _Mario Kart 8 Deluxe_ , a game that had been released a decade ago. That was when the Nintendo Switch had been released. The console was more or less retro now and considered by many to be obsolete, what with the recent release of the Nintendo VR, which took the realm of gaming into virtual reality. The console sold for five hundred dollars, ensuring that only the most die-hard gamers would indulge. The new game, _Tears of the Korok_ —the new _Legend of Zelda_ game exclusive to the VR, could literally take gamers into the land of Hyrule to battle Ganon's legions of demonic beasts.

And there was a rumor that the next _Mario Kart_ game would feature characters like the Pink Princess, the Steel Samurai, and some new mystery character from another yet-to-be-released game called Naruhodou Ryuunosuke.

Yes, the Nintendo VR was a console Clay wouldn't have minded owning. Nonetheless, he was happy with the Switch, with which he and Apollo could also play the classic games like _Super Mario Bros._ and _Donkey Kong Country_. Besides, gaming consoles just kept getting more and more expensive. Recently, he'd learned that Tytan Watkins, one of the guys in Clay and Apollo's dorm back in middle school, had dropped a whopping _twelve hundred dollars_ for the new PlayStation X-DX! No matter how much Clay would have liked to play _Super Steel Samurai Storm: Gold Edition_ , there was no way in hell he was going to spend _that much_.

" … Very damning!" the scarlet-clad attorney continued, his voice rising as he drank in more and more of the fuel that powered his legendary Chords of Steel. "And then there's the Super Horn. _The Super Horn, Clay_!" He abruptly seized Clay by the shoulders, shaking him. "My Super Horn could've eaten your Spiny Shell for _lunch_ , but _nooooo_! That sore loser _Luigi_ just _had_ to go and use that lightning bolt."

Apollo intensified his glare—sometimes Clay swore that his best friend could _see right through him_ —as if it was _his_ fault that the iconic green-clad plumber had shown such audacity. He seized Apollo's arms with surprising strength, forcing them down, and then took Apollo by the shoulders. "I got that lightning bolt fair and square, Polly! And I shrank _all of you_!"

He affected a wounded look. "I won that race, Polly," the young astronaut said, his voice breaking as he began to cry real tears (Clay had always fashioned himself a great actor). "I won! And I never win. Don't take this away from me!" He buried his face in Apollo's shoulder.

"Hold it!" yelled Apollo, his bright eyes blazing with the power of the god of the sun after whom he was named. "You won't get out of this by crying!"

Clay looked up, his tear-stained face dejected. He dabbed at his eyes and added a few sniffles for effect. Then he noticed Apollo's twin spikes beginning to droop forward.

Suddenly, as if on some unspoken signal, Apollo and Clay dissolved into fits of uncontrollable laughter. As ever, Clay was nearly blown over by the titanic force of the red attorney's Chords of Steel, though he was completely aware that his own Chords of Steel were nearly as powerful. And as ever, Apollo reached out and grabbed his forearm to stop him from falling. "You're _fine_ , Apollo Justice!"

Apollo's eyes, full of mischief, drank in the sight of his best friend. " _You're_ fine, Clay Terran!"

"We're FINE!"

Clay was _really_ crying tears of laughter now, his sides fit to burst as he and Apollo giggled like schoolchildren, perfectly in sync with one another. "Wait, wait!" he shouted. "Luigi's _fine_!"

"Peach is _fine_!"

"Yoshi is _fine_!"

"I got it, I got it," Apollo chortled, sounding like he was halfway through a marathon. "Get this!

"Bowser is _fine_!"

"Mario is _fine_!"

Apollo and Clay had shouted these last words at the same time. Well, they couldn't _always_ be perfectly in sync.

Strength spent, eyes streaming, and sides aching, Apollo and Clay's laughing fits subsided. Soon, they were gone. Silence replaced the laughter, a silence that was strangely not uncomfortable as a silent understanding passed between the two.

It was not the first time this had happened between Apollo and Clay, that they stopped whatever adventure they were on and simply enjoyed one another's company in silence, each thinking about their past experiences that had brought them together: more powerful than friendship; a bond closer than brothers.

But there was something different this time, Clay pondered. Somewhere along the line, he'd stopped seeing Apollo as just a brother and more as a … a _what_ , precisely? And what exactly had tipped him off?

He _had_ to know.

"Apollo?" he whispered.

As Apollo looked closely at his best friend, silently responding to him, Clay leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to Apollo's.

Clay waited with bated breath as silence shrouded the two once more.

Then, Apollo smiled.


End file.
